Sports Briefs: Vick to finish his sentence at home, with restrictions

RICHMOND, Va. -- Former NFL star Michael Vick will be allowed to finish his sentence under home confinement because there is no room at a halfway house for him, a government source told The Associated Press yesterday.

Vick is serving a 23-month sentence at the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kan., after pleading guilty to bankrolling a dog-fighting operation at a home he owned in eastern Virginia. He also admitted to participating in the killing of several underperforming dogs.

Vick's attorneys have said they expected him to be moved any day into a halfway house in Newport News. But because of a lack of space, Vick will be released instead to his Hampton home at some point on or after May 21, said the official, who requested anonymity.

Vick will be on electronic monitoring and will be allowed only to leave home for activities approved by his probation officer, the official said. He is eligible for release in July.

Vick's lead attorney, Billy Martin, and agent Joel Segal didn't respond to messages from the AP seeking comment. Another Vick attorney, Lawrence Woodward, said in a telephone interview that he couldn't respond.

More football

■ Receiver Santonio Holmes of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Super Bowl MVP, waived his right to a preliminary hearing yesterday on a misdemeanor marijuana charge stemming from a traffic stop in October. Holmes' attorney, Robert DelGreco Jr., said that his client waived the hearing because district judges cannot assess witness credibility or constitutional challenges.

District Judge Gene Ricciardi commended Holmes for donating the gloves he wore when he caught the Super Bowl-winning touchdown pass for charity, saying it showed fine character. The auction raised $70,200 for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America Inc. Holmes's 6-year-old son, Santonio III, has the blood disease.

Pittsburgh police said they found three marijuana-filled cigars in Holmes' car when he was pulled over Oct. 23. Holmes was stopped because his car was similar to one they were looking for in a drug sting, police said. DelGreco characterized the charge "as low as a grade of a misdemeanor you can get."

■ The Philadelphia Eagles yesterday offered one-year contracts to wide receiver Hank Baskett, offensive lineman Nick Cole and linebacker Tank Daniels. Baskett and Cole are restricted free agents, and Daniels is an exclusive-rights free agent.

Baskett set career highs in 2008 with 33 catches and three touchdowns for 440 yards. Cole started the final four games of last season and all three playoff games at right guard, and Daniels had 18 special-teams tackles.

■ Safety Gibril Wilson landed a big contract for the second year in a row, this time with the Miami Dolphins. He signed a $27.5 million, five-year deal yesterday as the Dolphins face the prospect of losing both starting safeties to free agency.

Wilson, a five-year veteran released last week by the Oakland Raiders, will receive $8 million guaranteed and $16.5 million in the first three years of the contract. Last year, he signed a $39-million, six-year deal with the Raiders that included about $16 million in guaranteed money.

■ Coach Al Groh of Virginia has filled the last opening on his staff, naming longtime NFL assistant Bob Trott as his linebackers coach. Trott spent the past five seasons as a defensive assistant and linebackers coach for the Cleveland Browns and also has worked for the New England Patriots and New York Giants. He has been an assistant twice when Groh was the defensive coordinator.

Tennis

■ Paul Scarpa, Furman's coach, is two victories away from an NCAA milestone.

Scarpa had 817 victories in 46 years as a men's coach. He could tie Jim Schwitters, a former Hawaii coach, today when the Paladins play matches against Cornell and Dartmouth.

Scarpa has spent 43 years at Furman and is the longest-tenured coach in Southern Conference history. His teams have finished first or second in the league 36 times. He's won 13 Southern Conference Tournament crowns and made four NCAA Tournament appearances.

Scarpa is credited with developing the dual match scoring system used by the NCAA.

■ About 1,000 police from seven counties will handle security for Sweden's Davis Cup match against Israel next week amid fears that protests could turn violent.

A police commissioner said yesterday that officials expect a "Stop the Match" protest, formed after Israel's offensive in Gaza started in December, to be relatively calm. But there are fears that protests from small, radical groups could turn violent.

The first-round World Group match will be played March 6-8 without fans in Malmo, Sweden. Only teams, officials, some sponsors and journalists will be allowed to enter the arena.

■ Andre Agassi will pick up a racket again, playing two matches for the Philadelphia Freedoms in the World Team Tennis league. He will play July 10 in Philadelphia and July 17 in Newport Beach, Calif., the WTT said yesterday. Agassi, who retired in 2006 with eight career Grand Slam titles, played for WTT from 2002 to 2004.

Miscellaneous

■ Police in Salt Lake City have recovered a car owned by Olympics cyclist Dave Zabriskie, but valuable bicycles and memorabilia taken in a burglary from his home are still missing.

Police say a gang unit found the car late Tuesday while staking out the home of a fugitive in South Salt Lake. Officers recognized the Toyota Scion as one of the items taken from Zabriskie's house and arrested a man who was seen entering the car. A police official said that nothing else of Zabriskie's was found with the car.

■ Dara Torres, 41, will return to competitive swimming for the first time since winning three silver medals at the Beijing Olympics when she competes at the Austin Grand Prix on March 5-7. Torres is entering the 50-meter freestyle with an apparent eye toward qualifying for the world championships in Rome this summer.